Middlesex Fashion graduate, Zainab Vandu-Chikolo was crowned winner of a high profile television series competition, which saw her tailor-made outfit worn by music star Rihanna at a live concert.
Zainab said: "I took one of the outfits that I created for my final year project to the auditions and was honoured to even be selected by Rihanna for the show, let alone go on to win the competition."
In the 10 week show 'Styled to Rock' Zainab was among 12 designers, who were given the chance to create bespoke designs for other celebrities based on their requirements and style. The outfits selected each week were then worn by the stars at live performances, photo shoots and red-carpet events.
"I learnt lots of new techniques in my fashion course at Middlesex, which helped me to be creative while sticking to the brief for each show. The competition was an incredible experience and working with a star as big as Rihanna. I was completely stunned when Rihanna came out in my outfit." added Zainab.
Zainab, who graduated in 2010, proved successful throughout the competition after winning the first challenge to design an outfit for Kanye West. For the final stage she closely studied Rihanna's style, performances and stage set, to create the two-piece outfit, which was handpicked by the star to wear for her Wireless Concert in London.
Zainab is currently working for a British luxury fashion house, is now looking for partners for a collaborative collection and hopes to go on to be a designer in her own right in the future.
